ladymichael

[ladymichael]

Great catch. More fodder for my headcannon that Spock has a standing invitation to girls night on the Enterprise.

Um, you guys? Why does Spock have painted toe nails? Who did that? Uhura? Because I can't see La'an doing that. It was definitely either Uhura or Una.

[ladymichael]

I am also still processing the episode but, like OP, I think there were interesting ideas and not enough time to explore them. I liked the concept of both the documentary and the giant sapient space butterfly that doesn’t want to be a killing machine. I like the idea that Starfleet is made by the people. But it feels like a lot for one episode. It’s not an immediate fav.

SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK SNW S3E7 WHAT IS STARFLEET IN THIS POST (and you probably need to have seen the episode to understand what i'm talking about because i'm kind of reviewing it without giving a clear plot synopsis or anything like that)

i think this was a solid enough episode. i think it's really cool that the question of what exactly starfleet is has been explicitly addressed and i personally like the stance they took. the documentary format of it is a fun new choice that i think works pretty well for what they're doing and that also wraps up beto's whole thing nicely. i found the storyline with the jikaru very compelling and i felt so bad for that poor creature. and i like that we got some glimpses into everyone's characters and motivations - i especially love that we've finally learned more about erica

my main problem is that it seems like the matter was resolved awfully easily. i have yet to really collect my thoughts about this so i could say things now but that wouldn't really be very cohesive probably but i just think it would've been better if the question had been left more open-ended. i feel like this is the kind of episode that could've used a full 90min, a real documentary. i think to really dive into the complexities of what starfleet is and all the arguments that could be made for various views on it requires more than just 40 minutes. i think they did well with the time they had but it would've been better if the conclusion wasn't reached quite so easily and we'd seen different aspects of starfleet more thoroughly explored and it was more left up to the viewer to decide what starfleet is

i don't know. i think this was a pretty solid episode and there are a lot of things i like about it - its ambition, its refreshingness, its character moments - but i'm coming out of it kind of underwhelmed, like it came close to being truly great but didn't end up being so. i think star trek is at its best when things are left up to interpretation and while i kind of like that they took a stance but i'm not sure it really works for star trek. i don't know, this episode felt a little too simple, too black-white for me. it touched on some very important and interesting aspects of star trek but it feels it just barely skimmed them instead of exploring them in full. which is a shame because right now i think it's a pretty solid episode and i think it had the potential to be a really great one

all in all i'm positive about this episode but i think it could've strongly benefited from more runtime and more explicit discussion of what everything we saw really means - what are the ethics behind all of this? what is really the (moral) significance of star trek? maybe the episode wants it to ask ourselves those questions but if it wants us to ask questions, then why did it take a clear stance on the biggest one? i think it would've been better if all these questions were more clearly stated and more deeply explored and we were directly asked to think about them rather than them just being vaguely brought up and the answer to the titular question being spoonfed. i don't know, maybe all this is intentional, maybe it's meant to get us thinking. maybe that's exactly why they took a clear stance on the subject - so we could challenge it. but it doesn't feel that way to me and my gut response is just that it doesn't really work as well as it could've

i did like this episode, i just think there's some lost potential and it could've been up there with ad astra per aspera, but i still really think that the second of half of s3 is shaping up to be much better than the first. and if nothing else it feels like they're aware of what star trek means and exploring it (even if i feel they're not doing so quite as well as they could) which is a major step forward from most of the previous episodes imo

[ladymichael]

Turns out the evil planet-destroying hoarder/parasite ship that became a bogeyman in multiple cultures across the galaxy was just Americans all along.

[ladymichael]

Strange New Worlds S3.E6 ∙ The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail

Whew, I liked this episode A LOT. Recap/thoughts/spoilers under the cut, but the TL;DR version is: empathy good.

This episode had a lot to cram in and it moved fast. On the Farragut, Kirk committed the classic blunder of complaining things are too slow at work and bam, "all hell broke lose." A massive space craft with tentacles and a gaping maw has destroyed the planet and damaged the Farragut, injuring many, including the captain. The alien craft is impenetrable to sensors and is jamming comms.

The Enterprise shows up and a select few beam over to the Farragut so we get to see Spock, La'an, and Kirk in a room together long enough for Spock to mentally question why La'an and James are on a first name basis (you can't tell me those Vulcan wheels weren't turning). Though, I don't think Kirk noticed Spock and La'an holding delicious eye-contact while she was beaming out. Wonder how Carol's doing at this point? Has she kicked Kirk to the curb yet?

Anyway .... that's about all the personal drama we get this episode. No time for more because the Enterprise is captured by legendary but mysterious scavengers, who have warped off to destroy an inhabited planet!

Spock's commitment to trusting the chain of command is on full display in this episode. He's the first to point out that Kirk is Captain of the Farragut since Captain V'Rel was beamed to the Enterprise before they were captured, and he later reminds the others that the decisions are not theirs, but Kirk's, to make.

As others have mentioned, it's fun to see Kirk commanding his future crew members Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Chapel. He asks Scotty for a miracle but, because this isn't that kind of episode, he asks for too much, pushes the ship too hard. It was actually kind of refreshing to see a Hail Mary fix not work out.

Kirk falters after this mistake. This is the first time we've seen this Kirk in command in SNW, and per the side character Alvarez, the first time he's had the conn in an emergency. It's interesting to see him go from brash and confident to unsure of his actions. It also gives us some good Kirk/Spock moments as Spock gives him a pep-talk about trusting his human intuition.

Meanwhile, in the belly of Howl's Castle* the beast, the crew of the Enterprise is trying to free themselves from the grasp of the scavengers' ship. Pike and La'an are working on removing the "umbilical" holding the Enterprise in place, but they can't communicate or control the thrusters. Pelia, landline phones, and Atari controllers to the rescue! This hard-wiring of the ship bit was shown heavily in the season trailer, and it was fun to see it play out. And the glimpse of Pelia's quarters was a treat. I can't imagine a job more fun than that of the art department team putting that together. Never has hoarding looked so good.

In the end, Kirk comes up with a clever plan involving becoming bait for the scavengers and jettisoning the nacelles in a move that reminded me of a saucer separation. Pelia's plan works and Ortegas pilots the Enterprise out of enemy clutches. Kirk and team are able to destroy the scavenger ship.

Victory is short-lived as they can now tell there were 7,000 life signs aboard, unable to be saved, and all human. They were the descendants of mid-21st century pre-warp Earth scientists sent to space to escape the climate crisis.

The aftermath of this revelation is what cemented this episode as one of my favorites of SNW thus far. As viewers, we know it shouldn't matter that they were human. Life signs are life signs. The Federation, at least the one I want, values all sapient life equally. But Kirk admits he had viewed them differently before he knew they were human. This is another reminder that this is a young, very green Kirk. Pike goes into full mentor mode as they discuss both the burdens of command and the importance of empathy. He tells Kirk empathy can't be conditional and that our enemies are often more like ourselves than we realize. In this case that is literally true, and that's what it took for Kirk to learn this lesson.

Kirk and Pike also reflect on what may have driven the scavengers' behavior. What changed in them? Could it happen to us? I liked this as well. Having the enemy be literally human reminds us that we ourselves are capable of monstrous acts, but we have to continually choose to do good, to choose empathy in the face of uncertainty.

And after the kind of boring faceless evil enemy of Through the Lens of Time, I found Pike's speech at the end incredibly refreshing and it made me more optimistic about the few episodes we have remaining.

Other bits and bobs not covered above:

I'm low-key sad those 7,000 humans died because their lore has the potential to be interesting as hell.

Scotty is a delight in this episode: talking to the ship, peppering his speech with Scottish idioms and references, and generally being a smart-ass.

Uhura sharing her faith in Kirk based on her prior experience was great.

Getting to see La'an and Pike work together was nice.

Of course Ortegas thinks the phone handset is a sex toy.

The emergency lighting on the Farragut was on my last nerve.

I really hope we get one episode this season with more Una. She hasn't gotten much this season.

"I promise to demote you at the earliest opportunity." Sassy Spock is my favorite Spock.

*I'm kidding, Howl would NEVER

[ladymichael]

Ha! I didn’t even notice the handshake in that episode. Probably because they didn’t make it a thing like they did with Kirk by zooming in on the contact and having the camera hold it for just a beat longer than needed.

I think Vulcans can just separate how they feel about a handshake vs an ozh’esta. You ever been friends with a guy from the northeast US that pecks you on the mouth every time you see each other? That’s not sexual or romantic. It’s like that.

Which isn’t to say they may not get a special funny little feeling if they happen to be attracted to the person they are shaking hands with.

already I've seen several posts complaining that Spock shook hands with someone in Wedding Bell Blues. but like babes, the whole 'vulcans have sensitive hands' thing came from fanfiction. the finger touch is just a gesture that can be a greeting or a sign of affection. it's not erotic. it's the vulcan equivalent of hand holding. and shaking hands with someone is not even close to that gesture. you have simply consumed so much fanfiction that the lines have blurred for you. you have forgotten what canon is, fandom has consumed you, reality matters no more

[ladymichael]

Do you think La'an had a sitting up in bed realisation about Boimler saying "computer end programme" all those months ago?

[ladymichael]

Recently rewatching The Conscience of the King, and talking to N about how sincere Kirk was with Lenore Karidian (me: no, he wasn't N: but maybe…?) I decided that now would be a good time to talk about one of my favorite acting performances in TOS.

Lenore Karidian is far from my favorite character (i.e. she is incredible but hardly evokes any warm feelings), but she's undoubtedly one of the most complex and best-written female characters in TOS, and, my applause to Barbara Anderson, the quality of her acting is built on an absolutely stunning transition from “it feels like she’s acting, I can’t believe her, why did they hire her for this role, was she the producer's daughter or something??” to “oh my god, she was really acting the whole time, it was all one big theatrical performance, I absolutely believe her in her madness, it’s incredible!”.

In addition, the whole story of Kirk/Lenore's mutual seduction in this episode is probably one of the most important examples for understanding how much Kirk himself plays into his tactical seductions (apart from his few sincere romances in TOS). There is a definite and very noticeable difference in how Shatner plays sincerity and insincerity, expressed in his body language/micro-expressions/gaze, and it may not be so noticeable at first glance, but it's something that I really respect a lot about his acting, and it's what makes it so difficult to replicate. This can be seen, for example, in how differently Shatner plays Kirk in the dynamic with Lenore, and in Court Martial, one of the later episodes, with his "we remained on great terms" ex-girlfriend Areel Shaw:

(the second image is from this best post because on trekcore this very micromoment was missed)

This is often overlooked in Shatner's acting, leading to each of Kirk's romances in TOS being perceived as "he's really into it" when he clearly isn't most of the time, purposefully or compulsively using flirting/seduction as a defense mechanism or method of achieving goals (which, okay again, makes him much closer to a noir femme fatale than the classic hero-lover). Kirk is not so much a straightforward impulsive hero as a subtle, measured manipulator. Yes, he does have great kindness and impressive courage, but the most important thing that drives his actions is an almost Vulcan control, ability to adapt quickly, calculating steps ahead, and easily using cunning and deception if the situation requires it.

And even among his inner circle, Spock is perhaps the only one who really sees his true face under the mask of "golden retriever sunny cheerful guy", which is why in TCOTK he immediately dismisses the possibility of Kirk's sincere interest in Lenore, which leads to the further discovery of Kirk's past on Tarsus IV. Even McCoy believes to the last in the sincerity of Kirk's feelings towards Lenore /Did it ever occur to you that he simply might like the girl?/ + /You really cared for her, didn't you?/.

Kirk's entire affair with Lenore is built on absolute mutual insincerity from the very beginning, and each of them is perfectly aware of why they are doing it. And this is actually incredible to watch, because perceiving it as sincerity, you obviously constantly feel some kind of imbalance in the acting and it's hard for you to believe each of them, but once you change the angle of perception and understand that it's all an act, it works absolutely wonderfully in halftones, when the body language and micro-expressions of both very similarly express simultaneously attack and defense:

This is perhaps Kirk's most evenly distributed (in question of power) insincere romance, and a great illustration of how specific Kirk is in navigating power in TOS, always remaining almost femininely limited in this regard, leaning towards cunning and manipulation, and never moving towards the masculine "I take/I have right." This is an incredible dance in the rhythm of cat vs cat, where each is sure that they have the other hooked, but at the same time, absolutely don't trust them. Lenore, while perceiving Kirk as her own victim, is clearly in enemy territory herself, and Kirk hardly ever trusts Lenore at all, and that's the most important thing to me about their dynamic.

Thinking back to their dialogue, which takes place immediately after his conversation with Karidian, I think about how meaningless it's to take it in the context of feelings (as well as his dynamic with Lenore in general), but how important it's in the context of understanding that Kirk is not simply asking "if Karidian is Kodos, to what extent is Lenore defined by that?", that he actually already knows what the answer will be. (It's a question he asks about himself, too. To what extent is he defined by Kodos' actions?)

LENORE: You talked of using tools. I was a tool, wasn't l? A tool to use against my father. KIRK: In the beginning perhaps. But later, I wanted it to be more than that. LENORE: Later. Everything's always later. Later. Latest. Too late. Too late, Captain. You are like your ship, powerful, and not human. There is no mercy in you. KIRK: If he is Kodos, then I've shown him more mercy than he deserves. And if he isn't, then we'll let you off at Benecia, and no harm done. LENORE: Captain Kirk. Who are you to say what harm was done? KIRK: Who do I have to be?

Overall, the whole "who is the killer" intrigue, while important to the viewer, is clearly not crucial or climactic for Kirk himself. The climax for Kirk, and the episode as a whole, is that he and Lenore are both the consequences of Kodos' actions, and the question is just how much that defines each of them. And this is not imposed from the outside, but a fundamental, personal, internal choice each of them makes.

[ladymichael]

Yes! I’ll give the Kelvin movies a pass because they were really trying to appeal to a wide audience and didn’t have time to explain it.

But on SNW I don’t understand why he and T’Pring didn’t do this primarily. It’s fine to be like, “oh, she’s trying to cater to his human side.” Okay, sure but he’s still Vulcan too. He grew up on Vulcan and saw his parents do the ozh’esta. It should have been emphasized. They also could have made a cute thing about it with Christine where he explains it to her.

One of the most annoying things about the AOS and SNW versions of Spock is that they keep making him act human in his relationships. I don't really care who he's paired with, but why do the writers keep ignoring Vulcan culture. Seriously, two versions of Spock with two different love interests, and they can't even give us something as basic as Vulcan finger touches???????

Spock doesn't need to get his shirt off or snog someone in a turbo lift to be sexy. He just needs to gently brush his fingertips across his love-interests hand.

These writers today have no idea what made Spock such a fan-favourite hottie in the first place. Please, hire some fanfic writers on the scripts.

[ladymichael]

[ladymichael]

The leg cross made me so happy! It’s such a Kirk move (well, a 60s move in general).

sitting 💅💅💅

[ladymichael]

She’s pure chaos and I love her.

I absolutely love finally seeing a technically talented person with tons of electronic junk just laying around who is a woman. But! What makes it funnier is that we know Pelia was not an engineer in the 1980's, when she claims the phones are from, she was just a hoarder. Oh, what a delight. I love that woman.

[ladymichael]

I’m not trying to turn your kids trans; that’s stupid. I’m trying to turn them into socialists.

[ladymichael]

st tumblr social experiment that’s probably going to flop:

put in the tags your sexuality, your favorite st series and character, and whether or not you like star wars

star wars version

[ladymichael]

See, I feel like the whole feeling worse once they realized they killed humans was THE POINT. This was a learning moment for Kirk. This was the lesson for him, and for all of us: to realize that even if our enemies are different from us, they are PEOPLE. The message isn’t that you can only feel empathy for someone if they are like you. The message is that even if we struggle to feel empathy for those that aren’t like us, we still need to try.

Season 3, episode 6: The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail (SNW)

I have insanely mixed feelings about this one.

Commentary:

- It was pretty cool to see just the TOS portion of the cast working together, I like that it’s sort of starting to set up the dynamic that they’re gonna have, even if they did have a pretty rough start.

- SPIRK MOMENT!!!!

- Poor Scotty, he was trying so hard. The others should have backed him up.

- The scavenger ship looked like a giant porcupine. It was pretty cute.

- How does no one know what a phone is??!! Everyone in TNG does.

- I want that weird cat clock that Pelia had. It was cute. I actually just wanna go through her quarters and uncover everything that’s in there and then take what she lets me, but I’ll start with the clock.

- Those guys were basically just the Borg, right?

- Ok, now the thing that really bothered me: the fact that they basically implied that they only felt bad about destroying the ship when they found out that they were human. Like, what does it matter??? They were still obviously living, sentient, intelligent beings. Can you really only have empathy for them if they’re humans??? Sure, they seemed to feel bad about it before, but they felt so much worse once they found out that they were humans. It just bothered me a lot. Like, it’s basically implying that you can only feel empathy for someone if they are like you and I really hate that message.

6/10, lowkey not great.

[ladymichael]

I finally saw it and it was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Shoutout to Superman (2025) for making it incredibly fucking clear that Superman is for good people. He’s hope. He’s love. He’s supportive. He’s an immigrant. He supports Palestine. He loves animals. He protects children.

The movie is a light. If you’ve been feeling really depressed about the world lately I’d highly suggest watching Superman.

[ladymichael]

Guys do you think she’s excited

[ladymichael]

I may not love the focus on Spock romance subplots for a variety of reasons, but I want to be abundantly clear that I like Strange New Worlds and also that I do not expect or even want to see cannon Spirk in this show because it would fundamentally change the context of TOS.

People are still calling Spock a fuckboi and the Enterprise bicycle? That's funny, but Ffs he's dated a grand total of 3 ppl over the course of multiple years and he broke up w/2 of them. Chill the fuck out

Y'all are clogging up the SNW tags and making it unbearable to follow the tumblr fandom. Either properly tag your hate posts or pack your shit and leave and go watch TOS. No one is forcing you to hate-watch this show.

I'm at least willing to see the show til the end before I make my final judgement. And guess what? Even if Spirk remains TOS subtext, I'll still be happy bc that subtext ain't going anywhere and I actually find ALL of Spock's romantic relationships interesting (not just Spirk) and I like how they incorporated his weirder TOS episodes into his younger personality.